Flower Blog
Archive - September 2007

The Flower Expert welcomes the flower enthusiasts to the special feature - Flower Blogs where the flower lovers can share the knowledge about flowers and flower related topics with the flower admiring community world-wide.

Post your comments on anything related to Flowers & Floral Industry. You can create a blog instantly without the hassle of username and password. And you can also view our monthly .

Anyone know what this is? I'm baffled.

If anyone knows what this flower is please let me know because I am baffled. It's on a bush that is about 4' high and getting taller yet. It is forming some type of seedpod or fruit. I've never seen it and can't find it in my books.

Snow Lotus Blossoms.

There is a flower with a blanket to keep it warm. Can you guess the flower, which is from China.

The cottony, white flower is popularly used in Tibetan medicine and prized by tourists. It is called as Snow Lotus Blossoms.

The plant favors steep, unstable scree slopes well above 12,000 feet. It's got to be tough to survive at the very edge of what's habitable. It even has what looks like a thick wool jacket to keep it warm.

Medicinal uses for the flower range from rheumatism to what's called women's diseases. And it is highly sought after by tourists as a symbol of the region, and a memento of their visit.

Snow Lotus Blossom is also in trouble. Increased world demand for the blossom has already cost one species at least four inches in height due to selection pressure, and could lead to its extinction. Scientists like Law and Salick are trying to save the snow lotus and other plant species threatened by their very popularity.

Anthurium's Market and Introduction of Bacterial Blight into Hawaii - Part 2

A destructive pathogen called Bacterial Blight is impacting HawaiiÃ¢??s production of anthuriums, a plant known for its heart-shaped flower and leaves, say plant pathologists with The American Phytopathological Society (APS).

Although they originated in Central America, anthuriums are now the most important cut flowers in the Hawaiian floriculture industry.

At the peak of production in the early 1980s, Hawaii was supplying up to 232,000 dozen flowers per month to the world.

During the 1980s, HawaiiÃ¢??s anthurium production dropped from a record high of approximately 30 million stems to 15.6 million stems in 1990.

The Bacterial Blight disease reached epidemic proportions during 1985-1989, destroying the production of approximately 200 small farms existent in Hawaii at the time. During the 1980s, HawaiiÃ¢??s anthurium production dropped from a record high of approximately 30 million stems to 15.6 million stems in 1990. Following implementation of an integrated disease management program, losses were eventually reduced to five percent or less.

There have been various components of an integrated disease management program for anthurium blight include sanitation, disinfection of harvesting containers, chemical sprays, modification of cultural practices, production of pathogen-free planting stocks in vitro, use of resistant cultivars, and biological control.

Anthurium's Market and Introduction of Bacterial Blight into Hawaii - Part 1

In an article I came to know about the market for cutflower Anthuriums in the world and also the diseases effecting the plant's growth. As these are one of my favourite flowers, I would like to share these facts with the flower community.

Anthuriums are perennial, herbaceous epiphytes with a climbing habit. They are produced commercially for the wide variety of colors and shapes of their heart-shaped spathes, often referred to as the floral portion.

A long spadix projecting from the spathe bears the true flowers and seeds (Fig. 1). Heart-shaped leaves with one main midvein and several lateral veins are attached to long petioles.

The genus Anthurium encompasses over 1,500 species, more than 600 of which originate from Tropical America.

Introduction of A. andraeanum to Hawaii from London in 1889 was by S. M. Damon.

Anthuriums are the most important cut flowers in the Hawaiian floriculture industry today.

The industry reached its peak in 1980, supplying local, national, and international markets with up to 232,000 dozen flowers per month (25). Although yield was at 2.5 million dozen flowers in 1980, supply was insufficient to meet demand.

Introduction of Bacterial Blight into Hawaii

Anthuriums were relatively insect and disease free in the early years of production, and commercial plantings established in Hawaii in the 1940s were successfully grown for forty years. Disease problems, including anthracnose, root rot, and lesion nematode, developed as cultivation increased from small plots to large operations. The most serious disease problem to strike the industry is bacterial blight caused by the pathogen Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. dieffenbachiae (previously, X. campestris pv. dieffenbachiae).

Discovery of New species of plants and animals in Vietnam

There has been new discoveries in plants and animals every year. This year discoveries have been in Vietnam. Lets see the facts.

Scientists have discovered 11 new species of plants and animals in Vietnam, including a snake, two butterflies and five orchid varieties, the Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) said Wednesday.

The new species were found in a remote region known as the "Green Corridor" in Thua Thien Hue province in central Vietnam, it said.

Three of the new orchid species are leafless, which is unusual for orchids, WWF said.

The other new plant species include one in the aspidistra family, which produces a black flower and can subsist in low light, and an arum, which produces yellow flowers surrounded by funnel-shaped leaves.

FTD.com: Sorry, We're All Out Of Roses

Online florist FTD.com, "the world's oldest floral services organization," told reader Sean that they were out of roses. Sean had ordered a flower arrangement for his wife to celebrate their sixth anniversary. When he presciently called on the day of the anniversary to verify that his order had been received and processed, Sean was told that his flowers were not available, but not to worry, since FTD still had five minutes to deliver his arrangement. Puzzled, Sean instead tried to order a simple bouquet of roses. He writes:

Don't buy from FTD Flowers aka FTD.Com. Sept 19th was my 6th anniversary and decided to surprise my wife at work with a beautiful arrangement of roses. I order flowers online before their cutoff time. I pay the near $100 and go my merry way..... Read more

Online Florist Sued for $1 Million

A Texas man is suing a reputed online florist in USA, 1-800-Flowers for $1 million after a thank you note from the web florist outed him as an adulterer. Leroy Greer specifically asked 1-800-Flowers not to send him a receipt for the cuddly stuffed animal and dozen long stemmed roses he ordered for his mistress. Despite his request, 1-800-Flowers sent a thank you note to his house several months later, prompting his wife to ask who the hell got flowers. She called 1-800-Flowers, which gladly faxed her a copy of Leroy's order form that included the following message meant for his mistress: "Just wanted to say I love you and you mean the world to me! -Leroy." Read the original news

Identify This Flower

Alstroemeria are absolutely stunning!

I recently purchased a 5 stem bqt of Alstroemeria and was astonished by there beauty, the durability, and there length. They were so reasonably priced that I couldn't resist buying them. Does anyone now of great ways to make alstroemeria arrangement, it would be fabulous to know?

Climbing Vines: Annual, Perennial

Apart from the flowering trees, there are climbing vines that become a show stopper for any landscape. Climbing vines can fill a variety of niches in your landscape. They can be used to enhance a desirable feature such as a chimney or wall or mask a less attractive feature such as a chain link fence or a storage shed. Vines can vary from simply providing a nice, green foliage to bearing wonderful flowers and fruits.

When considering what type of vine to plant in your landscape, it is helpful to know what the plants need from you and what you can expect from them. Not all vines climb in the same manner. They can be grouped together as plants that climb by leaning, weaving, rooting into the support, grasping (often with tendrils) or have thorns. When you know how a specific vine grows, you can provide the type of support it needs.

Trellises are the most commonly used support for vines, but some climbers (such as roses, bougainvilleas and alamandas) cannot attach themselves to a trellis. Many vines are also suitable as ground covers, sprawling instead of climbing up, and others are allowed to drape out of pots and window boxes.

There are different kinds of vines. They are Perennial Climbing Vines, Annual Climbing Vines, Tropical Climbing Vines.

Terrace Gardening

In one of the old newspapers I came to learn about Terrace gardening. Lets read about its facts.

MOST apartments that carry an exclusive landscaped garden, as we mentioned in the last column, are situated on the top-most floor of the complex. This week we will look at a terrace garden that is totally exposed to sunlight and will follow it with areas partially exposed to sunlight and an interior garden.

Green Color Rose image

Divine gift-Rose

Hi,i read an article on Rose and then i realize that a Rose is not just a symbol of love and beauty,but it has a great signficance in our life.It is used in medical and spiritual fields too.There is very interesting history behind this beautiful divine gift.
For more details,check out this link
http://www.sykinfo.com/beauty/a_rose_is_not_just_a_rose.php

Bouquet Makers in USA

A recent article on bouquet makers has these facts.

Bouquet sales are on the rise, according to consumer research by the American Floral Endowment. Sales of bunched flowers and bouquets have climbed slowly but steadily, increasing from about 23 percent of floral purchases in 1993 to 28 percent in 2000. Some California grower/shippers have branched into the bouquet business with products that respond to the latest signals from consumers.

It is seen as People look for variety, rather than relying on staple flowers such as carnations and chrysanthemums. Florists also have more choices for consumers who want to design a bouquet tailored to their home decor. The market demand for consumer bunches has spurred a broader selection of flowers available in this form. For example, consumers may choose among several different colors of gerbera bunches or a bunch of gerberas in analogous colors.

Bouquets for upscale and sophisticated consumers feature niche flowers, such as hybrid delphinium, godetia, and scabiosa. Thanks to the number of innovative growers as they produce high quality, long lasting bouquets with specialty flowers that tempt flower lovers.

Chemical composition of the essential oil from rhizomes, leaves and flowers of Zingiber zerumbet Smith

Recently I came across a site with a plant name Zingiber zerumbet Smith. I found it interesting. Here are its facts.

Zingiber zerumbet Smith, called "pain ginger" or "horse ginger" on Reunion Island, occurs throughout the Southeast Asia-Pacific area. It was brought to the Mascarene Islands at an unknown date.

The plant that grows from the rhizome comprises two stems, one sterile, 30-80 cm long, and one flower bearing, 1530 cm long. The flowers are pale yellow. The fruit is a white capsule bearing numerous black seeds.

Originally an Indian plant, Z. zerumbet is grown in tropical and subtropical areas for use in local pharmacopoeias and as a marketable spice. It is cultivated by vegetative propagation at a minimal altitude of 950 in with 1,800 mm of annual rainfall and a temperature of 21 deg C. The harvest is in September to December.